BANGUED, Abra – The Department of Science and Technology launched on Wednesday a mobile application that will allow the public to check whether their location is susceptible to landslides.
Ronjhon Gaming, an engineering professor at the Kalinga State University (KSU) who calibrated the 2009 guidebook for landslide susceptibility and created the mobile app, said the app is especially ideal for people living in the Cordillera, which is a mountainous region.
“This can be used by non-experts, ordinary people using an Android cellular telephone with the lowest specification,” Gaming said on the sidelines of the Regional Science, Technology and Innovation Week (RSTIW) here from Sept. 27 to 29.
The creation of the app was part of the Community-level evaluation and Assessment of Rain-induced Landslide Susceptibility (Clears) project, a P3.4 million endeavor funded by the KSU and the DOST that will allow any person to have a site-specific assessment of the possibility of a landslide happening in the person’s location in case of bad weather.
“Just follow the procedure as shown in the application and at the end of it, you will be able to see the word stable, susceptible or highly susceptible,” Gaming said.
To use the app, users will select their location from a list then either upload an actual photo of their location or activate a sensor on their mobile phones to determine the slope in the area and the possibilities of the area having a landslide.
The Clears app is one of the science, technology and innovation (STI) initiatives launched and presented in the event where the DOST focuses on relevant STI developments that the decision-makers and the public can use in their daily lives. – PNA
